Faber to receive UC Davis Aggie Legacy Award

Urijah Faber, recently retired UFC superstar and UC Davis wrestler, has been selected as recipient of the 2017 Aggie Legacy Award, the California-based school announced Thursday.

The award is bestowed upon a past Aggie student-athlete who has since enjoyed an outstanding athletics-related career since departing UC Davis.

Urijah Faber

As a University of California-Davis wrestler, Faber was a two-time NCAA championships qualifier in 2002 and 2003. Immediately upon graduation, Faber launched his successful professional mixed martial arts career which spanned thirteen years, with a 34-10 career record. Known as "The California Kid," Faber held the World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight title from March 2006 through November 2008, then enjoyed a heralded career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship from 2010 until his retirement in 2016. Since hanging up the gloves, Faber has been welcomed into the UFC and Sherdog.com halls of fame.

Faber also served as an assistant coach to head coach Lennie Zalesky at UC-Davis for a number of years. In 2010, the school dropped its wrestling program -- along with women's rowing, men's swimming and diving and men's indoor track -- for budgetary reasons.